Flicking A Cigarette
by K-C916
Summary: Saying goodbye is never easy. Axel/Saix friendship.


A/N: This kind of just... hit me one day(July 2nd to be exact) and I had to write it. Blue and Red used to be BFF's or something along those lines as Somebodies, and the reason Blue is second in command is because Axel pulled some strings. It may be a bit OOC, but I wanted to expand on the idea that they may have been friends. So, obviously, AU.

Word count is 1,157.

I've always thought Blue's Somebody name was Ais if not for the simple reason that Axel could call him Ace. Axel's Somebody's name has been officially released, btw. It really is Lea.  
There are some brief OC appearances in the story, but they aren't major.

Uhm... no pairings. Please don't flame if you think it's OOC, because I previously mentioned I just wanted to expand on a canon idea.

PS: Don't worry, Wings fans. I'm working on the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, me no own, so you no sue.

* * *

"I'm leaving."  
"Mission?"  
"No."  
"Why?"

The question lingered in the air for a long time before the answer came. Axel gazed at Saïx, adamant in his decision.

"There's nothing here for me anymore. I want Roxas back."  
Saix frowned, repeating his previous question. "Why?"  
Axel's eyes were dead. "He's my best friend. He's the only one I like."  
The Diviner's grunt signified that he did not understand.

"I thought we were friends, Number Eight."  
Axel flinched. "We used to be, Ace. We used to be."

Saïx looked away, his gaze softening considerably. He returned his attention to Axel, who only shook his head sadly and began to walk away.

"Lea?"

Axel flinched again, more visible than the last time. He looked over his shoulder.  
"Yeah?"  
"You're really leaving?"  
"Yeah."

There was another long moment of silence before Axel spoke once more.

"Are you going to tell the Superior?"

The answer was short, and sweet. It reminded Axel of days lived in another life. Days where Lea and Aïs were the best of friends and always looked out for one another.

"No."

Axel tried to smile, but it died on his lips. He walked into a Corridor, not saying goodbye.

Aïs used to hate goodbyes.  
Saïx hates goodbyes.  
Axel hated saying them. He couldn't.  
It's always hard to say goodbye for the last time.

* * *

_"Lea? That's a girl's name!"  
The redhead in question frowned(read:pouted) and brushed a thin strand of hair out of his face.  
"At least my hair isn't blue."  
The other kid looked offended for a minute, then smiled widely. There were gaps between his baby teeth.  
"You got spunk, kid," he said through his grin._

_Lea frowned. "What's 'spunk' mean?"  
Aïs frowned as well, wrinkling his seven year old nose. "I dunno..."  
There was a moment of silence before Aïs giggled boyishly._

_"Wanna be friends?"  
"Sure."  
They both smiled, shaking hands(adults did it, right?)._

_"My name is Aïs."  
"Nice to meetcha, Ace."  
"It's Aïs."  
"S'what I said, Ace."  
Aïs sighed._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Saïx."

"Xemnas?"

"You and Number Eight were rather close, right?"

"We were friends."

"I suspect he may have betrayed us. Did he come to you at all? Tell you his plans?"

Saïx hesitated, but shook his head. "No, sir. He did not."

Xemnas narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his Diviner.

He nodded slowly.

"Alright. You are dismissed, Seven."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Goodbye." Lea said, beginning to walk away. He was stopped by a snarl. He whipped around quickly, only to see a severely pissed off Aïs._

_"Ace, what's wrong?" They'd been friends for six years now, and Aïs had long since gotten used to the nickname._

_"I hate goodbyes!," the boy snapped, "They always sound so final!"  
Lea frowned, disguising the fear in his eyes, his heart. "I'm sorry."  
Aïs glanced at Lea frantically, rage gone as quickly as it had came. "Promise me you won't say goodbye unless you really, really mean it. Promise!"  
Lea hugged him tightly, trying his best to calm him down. _

_"It's okay. I promise."_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Axel was dying. His insides were turning to ash as he had literally burned himself out. He didn't hear the footsteps approaching.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday..."  
The blue-haired teen looked rather ashamed, his golden stare directed at his shoes.  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
"I... I don't know."  
Lea nodded sadly.  
"That's okay, Ace. I understand."_

_Aïs smiled. His friend released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, relieved to have the other back to normal._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Lea, are you... smoking?"  
Three years had passed since Lea learned not to say goodbye. He had just turned fifteen in January. Aïs was going to turn sixteen in two days._

_The redhead flicked his cigarette, the ashes drifting the the ground. "Yeah. Why?"  
Aïs didn't say anything, and an awkward silence passed between them. Lea broke it, like always.  
"What do you want for your birthday?"  
Silence again.  
"For you to stop smoking."  
Lea didn't say a word._

_But he never smoked again._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Someone knelt beside him. They smelt like lavender and nightshade and morning glory. Like twilight and midnight and dawn. His eyesight was blurry, but he knew it was Saïx.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"My parents abandoned me when I was three."  
Lea didn't know where this was coming from, but he listened anyways._

_"They'd normally go away for days at a time, leaving me by myself. It made me mature a lot quicker than other toddlers. I had a better grasp on English... I had to so I'd know how long I'd be alone."  
"One day, they left without saying how long they'd be gone. It was... a month and a half before my fourth birthday. All they said before they left was goodbye. After a week or two... I realized they weren't coming back. I was lucky the neighbors heard me crying and took me in. Otherwise, I would've just wasted away..."_

_He looked up at Lea.  
"We're practically brothers. You won't ever leave me, right?"  
"Right."_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Diviner ran his fingers along the ground, disturbing the ashes that had settled. He let out a choked sound, and Axel wanted to hug him and tell him they were brothers, and they would never be separated ever. After all, it was hard saying goodbye to a memory.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Hey Blue."  
It was the twins, Lila and Liam Stalette. Well, Lila spoke. Liam was further away, talking to himself. Lila glanced at him for a second, then turned back to Aïs. _

_"Where's Lea? You guys are usually joined at the hip."  
Aïs shrugged, looking around. "He said he'd be here soon."  
"Hey, Ace!"  
Liam looked up and shook his head, as though breaking out of a trance. "Speak of the devil."  
Lea pretended to slick back his hair. "Devilishly handsome, I know."_

_The four hung out for a few hours before the twins left with a, "See ya, Lea. See ya, Blue."  
Everybody called Aïs 'Blue' instead of by name. They didn't want to accidentally call him Ace._

_It was an unspoken rule that 'Ace' was Lea's nickname for Aïs, and Lea's alone._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tears dripped onto Axel's chest, but the only sounds were Axel's smoldering and Saïx's breathing. Sora had left a long time ago, thinking Axel had already faded away. The redhead stared up at his former best friend.

"I'm dying, Ace."  
"You said you'd never leave me. Brothers, remember?"  
Axel sighed. "I can't stay around forever."  
Saïx's mask broke for a second. A heartbroken sob escaped his lips.  
"I'm sorry, Ace.

_"-They sound so final!"_

"Don't die. Please don't die, brother.

_"It's okay. I promise."_

Saying it was a lot easier than Axel thought it would be. Easy as flicking a cigarette.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"You won't ever leave me, right?"_

_"I hate goodbyes!"_

_"I'm sorry-"  
_

_"-abandoned me when I was three-"_

_"-won't ever leave-"_

_"-stop smoking."_

_"-said he'd be here soon."_

"_Why?"_

_"-thought we were friends-"_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Goodbye."


End file.
